North Fork Valley Historic Barn Tour - October 12, 2013

A *Special Edition* Black Canyon Field Club Event to Benefit 

Save the Hotchkiss Barn

Time and place: Saturday October 12, 2013 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Please meet and park at the Delta County Fairgrounds in Hotchkiss. Ticket includes lunch, bus transportation and a small donation to Save the Hotchkiss Barn.

Tickets are $35 through October 7th, and $40 thereafter. Tickets may be purchased at

"Save the Hotchkiss Barn" Tent at Mountain Harvest Festival (September 26-29)

Paonia Farm & Home Supply

Hardin's Natural Foods on Rogers Mesa

PJ's Pub in Hotchkiss

The Hitching Post in Crawford

and online at http://northforkbarntour.eventbrite.com/ 

On Saturday October 12, 2013 BCRLT is partnering with the Interpretive Association of Western Colorado (IAWC) to assemble barn enthusiasts to visit nine barns in the North Fork area of Delta County, Colorado. Barns have been icons in the rural environment for over a century. Our purpose is to stimulate an appreciation for these images and to enhance awareness that these venerable structures are rapidly disappearing from the landscape. We are also using this venue as a fund raiser to save the Hotchkiss Barn, the oldest major structure in the valley, that was partially destroyed by a macro-burst on August 19, 2010.

The Enos T. Hotchkiss Barn before and after the macro-burst

The tour is to begin at the fairgrounds in Hotchkiss and follow HWY 92 to Crawford visiting two barns along the way. Then the entourage turns back north on the Crawford Road to Bone Mesa for one visit, then another on Stewart Mesa. From there we proceed to the Town Park in Paonia for a tasty box lunch and more discussion about these icons.

Once refreshed we proceed to Pitkin Mesa for one stop, then another along Bethlehem Road. The tour then proceeds southwest along HWY 133 to Midway for one visit, then continues to Hotchkiss and Barrow Mesa for another. Again we double back, this time through town to Riverside Drive and the Hotchkiss Barn. Built by Enos T. Hotchkiss in 1885-86, this barn was one of the first major buildings erected here. It is unique because of its brick walls and transverse timber frame. Very few brick barns are found in Western Colorado. The bricks were made close by and laid up by a Wisconsin bricklayer named Harry Bopp. The accompanying home, also of brick, was built three years later. With these experiences under belt, the Sherman brothers, nephews of Enos, started a brick-making business where the fairgrounds are today.

On the tour participants will see a variety of barns in their condition today. They can learn about some typical barn forms and gain insight about why these styles were developed. Discussion is to include how these barns were used. Consideration will be given to the variety of construction methods and the influences that caused them to be changed. Finally the talk is to focus on why barns are disappearing from the countryside today and what we might do to save them.

Proceeds from the tour, less expenses, will be donated toward the reconstruction costs of the Enos T. Hotchkiss Barn.

Seating on the tour is limited, so advanced reservations are recommended!